The truth is this: You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest. Yes, says the Lord, I will be found by you, and I will end your slavery and restore your fortunes; I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you back home again to your own land. Jeremiah 29:10-14 (TLB)
God will not exempt us from the trials of life or the consequences of our actions, but He will forgive us. God is like a father as we face the consequences of our own actions. He will not lessen them, but He will stay with us through them and does have plans for us when the time is right. It’s important to note that God’s timing is always right and we will be blessed as we learn to seek and obey Him. What God wants is for us to find restoration in Him from whatever it is that brought us to our current circumstances. His forgiveness is the greatest of gifts to us, and it allows us to have the hope and future that God promised.
Pray: Lord, thank you for forgiving me for all the times I have fallen short in following you. I know that I must experience the consequences for when I have acted wrongly, but I also know that you will stay with me. By faith and by following you, I can find my restoration. You have already paid the ultimate price for my sin, and I thank you for the hope and future promised to me. Amen.